Base-shield for pianos.



C. COLEMAN.

BASE SHIELD FOR PIANOS.

APPLIoATIoN FILED JAN. 24,1912.

Patented June 4, 1912.

T16. 5. I f,

IN VENTUR wlrNEssEs.- JMW 7n y LIVaENcE @LEMAN coLUMBlA PLANQCRAP" CO,WASHINGTON, n. c.

CLARENCE COLEMAN, 0F NEWCASTLE, INDIANA.

BASE-SHIELD ron rIANos.

Specicaton of Letters Patent.

Patented J une 4, 1912.

Application filed January 24, 1912. Serial No. 673,018.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, the undersigned, CLARENCE COLEMAN, a citizen of theUnited States, residing at Newcastle, in the county of VHenry and Stateof Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inBase-Shieldsfor Pianos, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in shields or protector guardsfor pianos.

In the business of handling pianos, including that of moving andtransporting the pianos in the shipping room and freight depots, and ofshifting same for demonstrating and for displaying purposes in salesrooms, and in the cleaning of thefloor surfaces about them, the polishedsurfaces of the bottom or base portions of the-legsV and of the pianobody are subjected to scratches and to bruises, and to being soiled withdirt and dust, or to being spotted with moisture or other deleterioussubstances. Such injuries to the said highly finished and polishedsurfaces must be fully repaired and the evidences thereof entirelyremoved.

The work of doing this class of repairing calls for the best and mo-stpainstaking skill in scraping, rubbing, patching, oiling off andre-polishing; and besides the fact that the services of artisanscompetent for the work are not readily obtainable, the work of saidrepairing is expensive and is a serious inconvenience to themanufacturer, as well as to the wholesale and to the retail merchant.

To provide a guard shield or protecting guard capable of beingpracticably attached to the piano, and which will effectively preventthe liability of the inflicting on the lower portions of the piano bodyand legs, of injuries of the character above referred to, are thegeneral objects of this invention.

More specific purposes of the invention are to provide a guard of thecharacter above referred to which will be simple and economical ofconstruction, rugged and durable, and which may be used for pianos ofthe minimum as well as the maximum width.

With the foregoing objects in view my present invention consists of thenew construction, combination and arrangement of parts described in thisspecification and defined in the appended claims, and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings wherein the several parts of the invention aredesignated by similar characters of reference throughout the differentviews, in which- Figure l is a plan view, and Fig. 2 is a perspectiveview of my improved base shield for pianos. Fig. 3 is a perspective viewof a piano, the base shield being attached to same. Fig. 4 is a viewshowing the relative position of the intermediate member of the shieldframe when the device is attached to a piano of minimum width.

The present invention contemplates the providing of a frame rectangularin form and havinga movable member connected thereto, the several partsbeing so combined and arranged that the device is capable of beingpracticably secured to, and of serving as a shield for pianos ofdifferent widths. This frame may be made of stout wood of any kind andstained to imitate ebony, oak, or mahogany or any other kind of wood ornish, and comprises the end pieces A and A1 whose ends are mortised,doweled, and glued to the ends of the side pieces B and B1. At suitablelocations near the ends of the piece B1 are offsets B2 which afford aclearance for the free play or movement of the casters at the rear sideof the piano body. Screws B3 in the side piece B1 and near the offsetsB2 reinforce the piece B1. Holes B4 and B5 are provided in the sidepieces B and B1 respectively and their functions will presently bereferred to.

An intermediate member connected loosely to and constituting a part ofthis improved shield consists of a bar C to whose end portions the headsC1 of the peculiar construction shown in Fig. l, are connected by screwsC2. The tongues C3 of these heads engage loosely the longitudinal slotsA2 of the end pieces A and A1 of the frame.

A shield of the construction-shown is applicable to use on the bases ofpianos of the maximum or the minimum width. Applied to a piano of themaximum width the shield appears as sho-wn in Fig. 3. The shield may beattached to the piano at the factory, or at the sales room. Before thepiano is let down onto its casters, from the rocker, tip-over, or otherstyle .of truck upon which it may have been transported, the shield isattached to its bottom. To so attach or fasten the shield in place,screws are passed through the holes B5' and through the holesB4, theformer being screwed into the rear side of the base or bottom of thepiano frame, and

the latter being screwed into the bottom of the toes K K of the pianolegs. The intermediate member being then slipped forwardly until the barC is in Contact with the side piece B there is ample room for the feetof the operator at the pedals L and L, .and by virtue of the curvatureC4 of the heads C1 there is ample room for the free play or turning oftheV casters secured to the toes K and K.

The mode of applying the device to pianos having less width-that is tosay,-having toes extending not so far forwardly as do those of the widerclass of piano, is identical with that just described, except that inthe last named width o f piano, the connecting screws are passed throughthe holes C5 in the heads C1 and screwed into the bottoms of the toesK1, and the shield is held fast to the bottom of the piano with theseveral parts in the relative positions as shown in Fig. il.

The advantages afforded by this invention are obvious. With the edges ofthe side pieces and of the end pieces of the shield projecting beyondthe rearside, and beyond the ends of the body portion, and beyond theends of the toes of the piano, possibility of injury by contact ofarticles of furniture or other objects, or of the broom or mop splashingwater or dirt against the polished surfaces of the piano or its toes orlegs, is avoided. There being free play of the casters, the attachmentof this shield at position as shown, does not interfere with or hinderthe usual shifting or moving about of the piano. It will be observedthat there is ample room between the bar C and the face board M of thepiano body for the feet of the person seated at the piano, so that useof the pedals while the shield is in use as shown, is notinterferedwith. In manufacturing this improved shield in different lengths nochange in the construction shown, other than merely theV lengthening ofthe side pieces and of the bar C, is necessary.

l/Vhat I claim as my invent-ion, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is 5- l. A base shield for pianos, consisting of a rectangular frame, alongitudinal member having its ends connected to and movable slidinglyin ways therefor in the end pieces ofthe frame, said frame andthe saidlongitudinal member being capable of being attached to t-he bottom ofthe piano.

2. A base shield for pianos, consisting of a rectangular frame therebeing offsets inthe inner edge of the rear side piece of the frame toalford clearance for the rear caster-sof the piano, a longitudinalmember having its ends connectedl to and movable slidingly in waystherefor in the end pieces of the frame there being olfsets in the saidlongitudinal member to afford clearance for the frontal casters of thepiano, and the said frame and said longitudinal member being capable 'ofbeing attached to the bottom o-f t-he piano.

8. A base shield for pianos, 'consisting of a rectangular frame therebeing offsets in the inner edge of the rear side piece ofthe frame, andthere being longitudinal grooves in the inner faces of the end piecesvof the frame, a longitudinal bar, a head piece se-l cured to each end ofthe bar and having a tongue to engage said grooves in the end pieces ofthe frame, and there being an oli` set in the frontal side of each ofthe said head pieces.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CLARENCE COLEMAN.

lVitnesses NATHAN Fos'rER, AMos COLEMAN.

Copies of' this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

